Elara's fist slammed into Lira's bedroom door so hard it shook on its hinges.
"Lira!" she screamed. "Open this door right now!"
It was four in the morning, but Elara didn't care. Kian's words about her mother had kept her awake all night, spinning around in her head like a tornado. She needed answers, and she needed them now.
The door opened. Lira stood there in her pajamas, looking confused and worried.
"Elara? What's wrong? You look terrible."
"We need to talk. Now." Elara pushed past her friend and sat on the bed. Her hands were shaking so badly she had to sit on them to make them stop.
"What happened?" Lira asked, closing the door quickly.
"Kian said something to me last night. Something about my mother. He said she sends her love."
Lira went very still. "What?"
"My mother is supposed to be dead, Lira. But Kian talked about her like she's living. Like he knows her."
"Maybe he was just trying to mess with your head," Lira said, but her voice sounded strange.
"No." Elara stood up and started pacing. "It's connected to everything else. My mother appearing in that fire. The way she acted. The way she knew things about my father that she shouldn't have known."
"Elara, you're not making sense."
"I am making perfect sense!" Elara spun around to face her friend. "Everyone has been lying to me. My father, Kian, maybe even you."
"Me?" Lira looked hurt. "I would never lie to you."
"Then tell me the truth about Alaric."
Lira's face went pale. "What do you mean?"
"You said he was with three different women since his wedding. How did you know that? How does my father have spies watching Alaric so closely?"
"I... I heard it from someone."
"Who?"
"It doesn't matter who!"
"It does matter!" Elara grabbed Lira's shoulders. "Everyone keeps telling me things about Alaric, but no one will tell me how they know. It's like you all want me to hate him."
Lira pulled away. "Maybe because we're trying to protect you."
"From what?"
"From the truth!"
The words hung in the air between them. Lira looked like she wanted to take them back, but it was too late.
"What truth?" Elara asked quietly.
Lira sat down heavily on her bed. "You really want to know? You want to know what everyone's been trying to save you from?"
"Yes."
"Fine." Lira's voice was hard now. "Alaric has never kept the same woman for more than one night. Ever. In his entire life. He's famous for it."
Elara felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. "That's not true."
"It is true. Ask anyone in his pack. Ask anyone in any pack. Alaric takes a woman to his bed once, and then he's done with her forever. It's like a rule with him."
"But he was with me more than once."
"Was he?" Lira asked. "Really? Or did he just make you think he was interested and then disappear?"
Elara's mind raced back through her memories with Alaric. The intense night by the pond. The way he held her and told her he loved her. The way he promised never to hurt her. And then how he left her alone the next morning.
"He told me he loved me," she whispered.
"He tells all of them that. It's what he does. He makes them feel special, takes what he wants, and then moves on to the next girl."
"No." Elara shook her head furiously. "No, it was different with me. I could feel it through the mate bond."
"What mate bond?" Lira asked softly.
"The one between us. I can feel his emotions, his pain—"
"Elara, honey." Lira's voice was full of pity now. "There is no mate bond between you and Alaric."
The world stopped spinning. "What?"
"You're not his mate. You never were."
"That's impossible. I can feel him. When he's with other women, it hurts. When he's in pain, I feel it too."
"That's not a mate bond," Lira said sadly. "That's just heartbreak. That's what it feels like when someone shatters your heart so badly that you think you can feel their emotions."
Elara sank to the floor. Everything she thought she knew was crumbling around her.
"But the night we were together. It felt so real. So perfect."
"I'm sure it did. Alaric is very good at making women feel special. It's how he gets them to sleep with him."
"You're lying." But even as Elara said it, she knew Lira was telling the truth. Deep down, she had always known something was wrong. The mate bond had never felt quite right. It was too one-sided. Too painful.
"I'm sorry," Lira said. "I'm so sorry. We all hoped you would get over him before you found out the truth."
"How long have you known?"
"Since the beginning. Everyone knows about Alaric's reputation. We just thought... we thought if we didn't tell you, maybe you would move on."
Elara felt empty inside. Like someone had scooped out all her insides and left her hollow.
"So when he left me that morning..."
"He was doing what he always does. Moving on to the next woman."
"And the wedding to Mira?"
"Was always going to happen. She's his real mate. The one chosen by the moon goddess."
Every word was like a blade cutting deeper into Elara's heart. She had been so naive. So foolish. She had believed every lie, every sweet word, every empty promise.
"There's something else," Lira said quietly.
"What else could there possibly be?"
"The reason your father is so angry about Alaric. It's not just because he hurt you."
Elara looked up at her friend.
"Five years ago, when your mother died..." Lira took a deep breath. "She was found in Alaric's territory. Near his house."
"What does that mean?"
"It means she was probably one of his women too. One of his one-night stands."
The room started spinning. Elara thought she might be sick.
"My mother was with Alaric?"
"That's what people think. That's why your father hates him so much. He thinks Alaric seduced your mother and then discarded her, just like he did to you."
"But she's dead. She died in a car crash."
"Did she?" Lira's voice was very quiet now. "Or is that just what we were told?"
Before Elara could ask what that meant, they heard footsteps in the hallway. Heavy, male footsteps approaching Lira's room.
"Someone's coming," Lira whispered.
The footsteps stopped right outside the door. Then someone knocked.
"Miss Lira?" It was a deep, unfamiliar voice. "We know Elara is in there. Send her out."
"Who is that?" Elara whispered.
"I don't know," Lira whispered back, looking frightened.
"Miss Lira," the voice said again. "This is Kian's beta. He sent me to collect his future wife. The wedding has been moved up."
"Moved up to when?" Lira called out.
"Now."
Elara's blood turned to ice. "Now?"
"Kian is waiting in the car outside," the beta said. "Elara has five minutes to get ready and come with us. If she doesn't, we'll come in and get her."
"You can't do that!" Lira shouted. "This is our territory!"
"Not anymore," the beta said with a laugh. "Check outside."
Lira ran to the window and looked out. Her face went white.
"What is it?" Elara asked.
"There are at least twenty werewolves surrounding the house. All of them from Kian's pack."
"Where's my father? Where are our guards?"
"I don't see any of them," Lira said, her voice full of fear.
The beta knocked again. "Four minutes, Elara. Don't make this harder than it has to be."
Elara's mind was racing. Everything was falling apart. Alaric had never loved her. Her mother might still be alive. And now Kian was here to force her into marriage.
"What do I do?" she whispered.
"I don't know," Lira said helplessly.
"Three minutes," the beta called out.
That's when they heard a new sound. Howling in the distance. But not just one howl. Many howls, getting closer and closer.
"What is that?" Elara asked.
Lira listened carefully, then her eyes went wide. "That's not Kian's pack," she said. "That's someone else. Someone's coming to fight them."
The howling grew louder and closer. The beta outside their door started speaking rapidly to someone, his voice worried now.
"Who would come here to fight Kian?" Elara asked.
Lira looked at her with a strange expression. "Only one person would be crazy enough to attack Kian's entire pack," she said slowly.
"Who?"
"Alaric."
Before Elara could respond, they heard the beta outside curse loudly. Then his footsteps ran away down the hall.
"Two minutes!" he yelled as he ran. "We're leaving in two minutes with or without her!"
The howling was so close now it sounded like it was right outside. Then they heard fighting. Snarling, growling, the sound of claws and fangs.
"He came for me," Elara whispered, hardly believing it.
"Don't get your hopes up," Lira said sadly. "Remember what I told you about Alaric. He doesn't do this for love. He only fights when his pride is wounded."
That's when someone started pounding on Lira's bedroom door. But this time, it wasn't the beta.
"Elara!" It was Alaric's voice, desperate and panicked. "Elara, are you in there?"
"Alaric?" she called out.
"Thank God. Open the door. We have to go. Now."
Elara ran to the door, but Lira grabbed her arm.
"Don't," Lira said urgently. "This could be a trap. What if he's working with Kian?"
"Working with Kian?" Elara stared at her friend. "Why would you think that?"
"Because," Lira said, and her voice was full of something Elara had never heard before. Something cold and calculating. "Because I told him you'd be here."